Dog Days
by Mccorkle
Summary: Anna takes her dog for a walk and meets a girl from her school. Light fluff ensues.


Anna Erikson entered her house and flopped onto her couch. She had just come back from the gym, but was feeling a little too lazy to shower just yet. There was a commotion in the kitchen where her father was trying to prepare something to eat. She heard a clatter as something fell, followed by a string of curses. Anna giggled.

"Anna are you home?" her dad asked. "Get this dog out of here, I'm trying to make dinner."

"Sure thing dad," she said. She called for the dog and it came running to the living room. Olaf was a mutt, and no one in the family could figure out all the parts that made up their dog. He had pointed ears and a long snout. He trotted along on legs that seemed just too long for his short body. His fur was white except for some brown and black patches down his back and the ends of his feet. He was sweet tempered and loved to be embraced and cuddled.

"Take him out for a walk, he's got too much energy," her dad said, trying to sound annoyed. For all his bluster Anna knew he spoiled Olaf as much as anyone else in the family.

Anna put on her best whiny teenager voice. "But dad, I just got in from the gym, I'm too tired."

Her dad poked his head out of the kitchen and gave her a look. "I could do it, but then I don't know when dinner would get done," he said.

Anna jumped up. "I'm going, I'm going right now," she said. She gathered up Olaf's leash and a plastic bag and corralled Olaf by the front door.

"Make something good," she yelled as she left the house.

She didn't hear her dad's response as Olaf pulled her along. He really was full of energy, and as always he was curious about everything. He tugged this way and that, but Anna knew one way to get him to behave, a little bit at least. She took off at a brisk jog. Olaf happily trotted along at her side.

When she walked Olaf she usually took the same route, but today she was feeling adventurous. She took turns she normally passed by, trying to find streets she didn't normally take. Of course, she had been living in this neighborhood her entire life; she wasn't worried about getting lost. Still, it was nice to change her scenery every now and then, and Arendelle was such a beautiful little place to live, it would be a shame not to take it all in.

After a few minutes of jogging she slowed to a walk. Olaf fell in to step beside her, some of his energy burned off. Eventually they came upon a worthy looking lawn and Olaf stopped to do his business. Anna whistled tunelessly and looked around at nothing, trying to give her dog some privacy. When he was done she crouched down to clean up after him, but before she stood up Olaf started barking. Anna looked up.

Coming around the corner was a stunning vision. A young woman with long blonde hair, tied in a thick braid, and sharp, elegant features looked down at her. At her side was a white... behemoth of some sort. It stood as high as the girl's elbow, and seemed to be half fur. She looked like a fairy, or a princess- or a fairy princess!- with her magical animal guardian.

"Oh, um, sorry," the vision said, and the spell was broken. Anna recognized the other girl. She had seen her in the halls at school. The other girl was older and beautiful, and that's all Anna knew about her. The animal next to her... as far as Anna was concerned it really was a behemoth.

She stood up quickly and tied her plastic bag off. "No, I'm sorry. My dog just had to stop and, well," she waved the bag around. "Er, sorry, you probably don't want to hear about my dog's, um... waste." Anna felt her face get hot. "Olaf, quit barking." Olaf looked at her and hung his tongue out of his mouth, but did stop his barking.

"It's okay," the other girl said. Her pale features were tinged pink. "Dogs will be dogs, I suppose."

"Haha, yeah." Anna was torn. She knew she should just move along and leave the girl alone, but she really didn't want to. She had an endearing shyness about her, in the way she stood and the light blush on her cheeks. Or maybe she was just uncomfortable because Anna was staring.

"We go to school together, right?" Anna asked suddenly. "Um, not like, walk there together, but we go to the same school?"

"Yes," the other girl said. "You're on the field hockey team, correct?"

"Oh, yeah! How'd you know, I don't think we have any classes together. Please tell me we didn't meet before. Not that I didn't want to, or don't want to, I just don't remember if we did, and that would be a real shame, and I'd feel bad if you remembered me but I didn't remember you." Anna took a breath. She was confusing herself, and, from the looks of it, the other girl as well. "Sorry, I have a tendency to ramble. I'll shut up now."

"Um. Okay. I- You were on the school news. You and the rest of the team. You guys did well last year."

"Hm? Oh! That's how you knew I was on the team. Right." The other girl brought her hand to her face. She seemed to be hiding a smile. Anna let out a sigh of relief in her own head. Even if she was making an idiot of herself, at least the other girl found her amusing. She decided to push on.

"I'm Anna," she said. "This little guy is Olaf."

"Nice to meet you Anna. My name is Elsa." Elsa. It was a beautiful name. Very fitting for the other girl. "And this is Marshmallow."

"Hi Elsa. Hi Marshmallow," she said. "Is that- is that a dog?"

"Oh," Elsa said. "Yes. He's a Great Pyrenees."

"I thought he was a great big monster," Anna said. She giggled at her own corniness. She was surprised to see Elsa hiding her mouth behind her hand again. Was the other girl actually laughing at one of Anna's bad jokes? She just had to get to know this girl!

"So Elsa, what year are you?"

"I'm in my junior year. What about you?"

"I'm a sophomore." Anna bit her lip and considered for a moment.

"Well, you know I play field hockey. Do you play any sports?"

"Oh no, sports aren't for me. I am in the school musicals though."

"Oh, I love those! Who were you last year?"

"I only had one line in one song," Elsa said. "I'm not much of a fan of being in the spotlight in front of so many people."

"Why though, you're so beautiful." Anna blushed at her outburst. Had she really just said that?

"Oh." Elsa blushed as well. Apparently she had just said that. "Um, thank you. But all that attention would be... just really not for me. I much prefer the chorus."

"Oh? I'd love to hear you sing, I bet you've got a wonderful voice," Anna said. She felt her face get even hotter. Why did she keep saying these embarrassing things?

"Ah, well, um. Thank you."

Anna wanted to say more, get to know this girl more, but she felt her pocket vibrate. She pulled out her phone and saw that her dad had left a message telling her that dinner was ready.

"Um, I should probably get going," she said. "Dinner."

"Oh. Of course."

"See you around," Anna said. Despite her words she was reluctant to leave.

"See you, Anna."

As she started to walk away, Anna hoped she'd see the other girl again soon.

* * *

Anna spent the next two weeks trying to bump into Elsa again. She spotted the other girl at school a couple of times, but never had the time to say hello. Instead she focused on trying to see her outside of school. She took to walking Olaf around the neighborhood where she met Elsa the first time. She walked at the same time every day. They'd spend so much time walking that by the time they got back, Olaf would be panting and in need of water. Anna made sure to keep his bowl filled, and he got a lot of extra treats for putting up with her temporary obsession.

But all of their hard work paid off. She ran into Elsa out walking her monster- Anna still wasn't convinced it was a dog- and tried to strike up as natural a conversation as she could. She brought up the idea that the two of them walk their dogs together, cool as ice. As if her stomach wasn't twisted into knots. As if she hadn't spent two weeks obsessing over Elsa.

Somehow she managed to pull it off. That, or Elsa was more forgiving than most. Either way, Elsa agreed with Anna's idea, and they set a time for the two of them to meet up.

And so Anna fell into a new routine. After school she'd hit the gym then take Olaf out. She'd meet up with Elsa and the two would walk side by side, sometimes following a pattern, and sometimes letting their feet carry them wherever. Sometimes they went to a small park and let their dogs run and explore to their hearts' content.

Those were Anna's favorite days. She and Elsa spent more time together on those days. They got to sit and relax while they talked to each other. Anna learned that the other girl loved art. Paintings, sketches, etches, the older girl seemed to know and love every medium and style under the sun. She even dabbled in making her own, though she refused to show any to Anna.

Elsa got to hear all about Anna as well. Anna talked about field hockey. The rules, the positions, the strategies; everything. She talked about her favorite shows, her favorite music, her favorite everything. When Elsa recognized something Anna was talking about, and said she liked it too, Anna nearly flipped. She was amazed to think she and this beautiful creature had something in common.

Anna ended up telling Elsa a lot. A lot more than the older girl told her. Anna didn't mind. She was finding out that Elsa wasn't a very social person. She didn't have many people she talked to in school, and she didn't like talking about herself when she did. Anna was happy she was someone Elsa _could_ talk to. A feeling of happiness that grew the more time they spent together.

* * *

"You know, Elsa, I was wondering," Anna said one day as they sat on a bench watching their dogs sniffing around a tree.

"Wondering what?" Elsa asked. She was relaxed, leaning back against the bench with an arm spread along the top of it, one leg crossed over the other. Anna was glad that the older girl could relax around her.

"Why did you agree to walk our dogs together?"

"Hm? Why?"

"Yeah. I mean, I was such a dork the first time we talked to each other and you still decided to hang out with me," Anna said. She twisted one of her braids- a nervous habit she had been trying to break herself of- as she waited for the older girl to respond. She was starting to regret bringing her question up to Elsa.

Elsa turned her head to look at her and Anna felt a blush coming on. "I'm not really sure myself. You really were very dorky." A teasing smile showed on Elsa's face and Anna huffed in pretend indignation.

"You don't get to call me dorky," she said.

"Even if it's true?"

"Especially if it's true."

Elsa hid a giggle behind a hand. "You were also very kind, and inquisitive."

"Huh? Oh." Anna had almost forgotten about her question after getting lost in Elsa's adorable display.

"And you didn't really strike me as a bad person. Maybe a little odd, but then so am I."

"I like odd," Anna said.

"So do I." Elsa paused for a moment and Anna thought the other girl was done with her answer. Then she spoke again. "And Olaf was just so cute. He's a very good dog. You can tell a lot about a person from their pets, you know."

"Oh? What did Olaf tell you about me?" Anna's stomach twisted nervously. She wasn't sure she wads prepared to hear whatever Elsa had to say.

"He's a very happy dog, very energetic. Perhaps a bit curious, but very sweet-natured." Elsa gave her a look, and even if Anna couldn't quite tell what it was, it still set her heart beating a little faster. She licked her lips. She wasn't sure what she was feeling, but she knew she didn't want it to go away.

"Marshmallow is very calm," Anna blurted out. "And well-behaved. And he carries himself like he's royalty."

Elsa let out a huff of amusement. The look was gone, replaced with a much more familiar look of playful annoyance.

"Yes, I suppose I am all of that. Especially royal." Elsa straightened her back and arranged her features into a haughty look. Anna rolled her eyes.

"But look at him now," Anna said, pointing to the massive dog. He had his forepaws on the trunk of a tree and was unabashedly baying at what were probably squirrels rustling the leaves. Slobber flew everywhere with each loud woof. Olaf was running around the tree and Marshmallow, adding his own noise to the bigger dog's deeper barks.

"He's come a long way since I first met him. He really know's how to cut loose and have fun now!"

Elsa blushed and looked away from Anna. The older girl was seriously too beautiful. Even embarrassment looked good on her.

"It's all thanks to his new friend, I'm sure," Elsa said. She worried her lip with her teeth, and her hands clasped in front of her. "Though I don't think I'm quite ready to 'cut loose.'"

"Well of course not, I was talking about Marshmallow," Anna said with a teasing grin. She was rewarded when Elsa looked at her again with a shy smile on her face.

"I can say that I have more fun with you around," the older girl said. Anna felt a full-blown smile burst onto her face. "And I'm very glad you decided to talk to me. That was very brave of you, considering my monstrous defender."

"You're telling me! Look at him- he's vicious," Anna said as she swung an arm out to point at Marshmallow. He was currently rolling around in the grass as Olaf nipped playfully at him. Elsa laughed and shook her head at their antics. Anna kept her eyes on Elsa as the two of them slid into a companionable silence. She was also very glad that she had worked up the courage to talk to this beautiful, amazing girl.

She moved her eyes to their dogs, suddenly aware that she had probably been staring too long. The feeling from before returned, the one that twisted her stomach and sent her heart into a frenzy. It was exhilarating and a little frightening, but totally addictive. She still couldn't put a name to it, but that was okay. She had time to figure it out, and for now, just being able to hang out with Elsa made her plenty happy.


End file.
